


As The Sea Parts

by FriendlyNeighborhoodPagan



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Surfer AU, mermaid au, mermaid keith, surfer lance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-05 02:23:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11004009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FriendlyNeighborhoodPagan/pseuds/FriendlyNeighborhoodPagan
Summary: He was there again. In that same spot, on the top of the rocks overlooking the ocean. He never swam, never dipped his toes into the cool waves. He just sat. And he watched. He was there every time Lance walked across the beach, carrying his surfboard under one arm. And every time, Lance couldn’t help but feel a deep, painful sense of sadness for the boy whose name Lance didn’t even know. The boy who watched the sea with longing in his eyes, but never dared to venture in.





	As The Sea Parts

**Author's Note:**

> An AU multi-chapter fic where Lance is a surfer and Keith is a mermaid. Not sure how long it's gonna be yet, but if there's enough interest I'm gonna make it long. Hope you enjoy!

There were many things Lance knew for certain. He knew that the moon caused the tide. He knew that mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell. He knew that the sky is blue and the sun is a star and the Earth circles around it. But what he didn’t know was why on God’s green Earth the boy with the mullet sat on the rocks every day looking at the sea, and never went in. “Never” meaning that Lance was at the beach every day, and mullet boy was there every day, for hours on end, and Lance had never even seen him dip a toe in the water. And every day, mullet boy was there when Lance arrived at the beach, and when Lance left the beach.  
  
It was like the guy lived on that rock.  
  
Lance turned his attention back to his guava juice, frowning as he glared at the table for no reason. It was almost frustrating. Lance didn’t even know mullet boy’s name—the nickname was evidence enough of that—and yet every time Lance caught a glance of him on the rocks…  
  
Lance shook his head in annoyance at his own brain.  
  
“Yo,” A familiar hand snapped in front of Lance’s face. Lance looked up, remembering suddenly that he was out with his friends for a bite at the café by the rocky tide pools—where Lance had a perfect view of mullet boy, but that wasn’t the point. It was a tradition—once a month, on a Friday, the three of them would have a juice at the Castle Café for a little study session and then spend the rest of the afternoon either swimming or surfing. “Earth to Space Cadet. What is up with you today? You were spacing out in class too.” Pidge looked at Lance in that smug way of theirs—the way they looked when they were silently trying to tell you that they knew more than you thought they did.  
  
And they always knew more.  
  
Which meant that Pidge had 100% figured out that Lance had been staring at Mullet Boy. Great. Lance tried to shrug it off, putting on that familiar grin of his as he picked up his juice for another sip. “Hey, I got a lot on my mind. I’m a complicated guy. Mysterious. The ladies dig that, you know.” Lance wiggled his eyebrows a little as he took a sip of his drink.  
  
“Yeah, I’m sure they find your layers of complexity about as interesting as their textbooks. Which you should be looking at. Because if you opened it up just once, I wouldn’t have to teach you a semester’s worth of cramming in one afternoon.” Hunk added, tapping his finger on his physics textbook pointedly.  
  
“Hey, I can’t help that I’m a busy guy with many things to do. And by things, I mean—”  
  
“Oh, drop it, Lance, we all know that “things” means playing video games until 2 AM.” Pidge sipped at their strawberry shake casually, typing away at their computer busily. Probably something to do with that weird research thing they were doing for fun about mythical creatures. Why Pidge found that stuff fun was way beyond Lance. Why do something that felt like homework when you could… not?  
  
Lance opened his mouth to protest, but he was instantly cut off by Hunk. “Which is why you never do your homework, which is why you pay me to tutor you—except, oh right, you don’t pay me.”  
  
Lance sighed. “You know, I came out here to have a good time, not to get called out by my friends.”  
  
“We just want to help, Lance,” Pidge said, still typing away.  
  
“Yeah, yeah, I know—senioritis, graduating, college, yadda yadda. I’ll do my homework eventually. I always end up passing in the end, don’t I?” Lance said as he stood up, putting down a 5 to cover the cost of his drink, plus a little tip.  
  
“Woah, wait, where are you going? What about studying?” Hunk asked, starting to get out of his seat as well. Pidge even looked up from their computer.  
  
“To the beach. I don’t feel like studying today. Let’s meet up tomorrow, instead.” Lance said as he grabbed his board and started walking off the wooden patio of the café and onto the warm sand. Lance would never grow tired of the feeling of the sand squishing between his toes. It was one of the many things about the beach that Lance enjoyed.  
  
Lance could hear Hunk protesting behind him, but he kept walking. He knew that his friends meant well, and he loved them for it—but he didn’t really feel like doing anything super mentally stimulating. And while Hunk was an amazing teacher, some days Lance just didn’t have the energy to deal with… well, anything other than surfing.  
  
Lance paused for a moment, looking over at the rocks again. Sure enough, there he was—sitting on a towel, as far back on the rocks as he could get, with his legs pulled up to his chest as he stared out into the sea. The wind blew through his black hair gently, captivating Lance for a brief moment as he admired the way mullet boy’s strands of hair danced in the breeze.  
  
Annoying.  
  
Cute. But still annoying.  
  
Maybe it was irrational for Lance to be annoyed, but he still was. It just didn’t make any sense. Why come to the beach if you don’t like the water? Or interact with anyone? Or at least go within five feet of a puddle? It didn’t make any sense.  
  
Lance’s feet had moved without him realizing it, and suddenly he was standing over mullet boy for the first time. It was strange, though. Now that he was up close, mullet boy seemed to be about Lance’s age. But Lance had never seen him at school before. Lance’s breath caught in his throat, and he silently panicked. Well, he was there, so he had to say something—but wouldn’t it be weird if he suddenly made conversation with a complete stranger? Especially one that he occasionally watched? Wouldn’t he come off as a bit of a stalker? Wait… Was he a stalker?  
  
Right, not the point.  
  
Lance’s breath came out in a huff when mullet boy didn’t even turn to look in Lance’s direction. Rude? The guy could at least acknowledge other people’s existence. Now he had to say something. “Ya know, the water is a lot more interesting when you’re in it.”  
  
Mullet boy turned his attention to Lance, looking up with what almost appeared to be purple eyes—but that was silly because purple eyes couldn’t really be a thing. It must have been a trick of the light. The boy didn’t say anything at first, he just stared—his eyes flickering between Lance and the surfboard.  
  
Lance smirked a little. He loved being recognized. Of course, he was used to people being in awe of him and his board. He was in a lot of competitions. It took away from his school work sometimes, but that was ok because he had what he really wanted: popularity. Now, this wasn’t out of vanity (although there were many who would claim that to be true), but rather out of Lance’s deep need to feel like he belonged.  
  
And it worked—Lance did belong. Everyone knew his name because he made sure of it. Still, it always made him a little bit happy to know that someone knew him even if he didn’t know them. It made him feel like he meant something—like he was doing something with his life that other people noticed.  
  
Mullet boy finally looked Lance in the eyes. There was something in his expression that Lance couldn’t place. “…Who are you?”  
  
What.


End file.
